Window Rock, AZ 86515 - (928) 871-7941
Navajo Chief Manuelito(Pistol Bullet)
One of the most revered leaders of the Diné is the Manuelito who led the People during a time of great strife and hardship. Today, the Diné honor their leaders who endeavored to uphold the sovereignty of the Diné nation.
“Hwéedi: Naaltsoos Sáni’ Fort Sumner: Treaty of 1868″
The Long Walk
The exhibit portrays the historical event at Bosque Redondo known as Hwéeldi, the Long Walk to Fort Sumner by Diné people. The exhibition presents Diné oral history past down through generations and images relating to this horrific event. We introduce our twelve Diné Chiefs and seventeen Council Headmen who signed the Treaty of June 1, 1868 with Commissioner General W. T. Sherman and Samuel F. Tappan representing the United States.
After the return to Diné Bikéyah (Navajoland), Diné people return to their cultural and traditional way of life through their language and ceremonies. This exhibit is to educate our Diné people, youth and leaders in understanding their history and for our Diné people who survived and prevailed in maintaining their way of life.
The Silver Stars exhibit features a collection of jewelry and personal adornments masterly created with a combination of alloys and mineral deposits found within Mother Earth. The works are innovative to include traditional and contemporary designs and technique states Clarenda Begay, Museum Curator.
The men and women artisans of this era have mastered and refined the art of jewelry making into a superior level of metalsmithing. Through their work, the Artists express their time honored trade as it is passed down from generation to generation of creating naturally from the heart and mind. Many of these superb artists mentor the up and coming artist who will take it to another level in time.
The exhibit includes works by over 80 artisans like Preston Mongongye, Victor P. Beck, Harvey A. Begay, Harry Morgan, Patrick Smith, Edison Smith, Norbert Peshlakai, Terry Martinez, Aaron Anderson, Darryl D. Begay, Tommy Jackson and Tonya June Rafael. Many of the Navajo, (Diné) Artisans are recognized as trend setters and elite silversmiths, who show their works at major museums shows and art markets throughout United States. The Museum Curator worked with several area collectors and silversmiths to make this exhibit a success. Thunderbird Supply Company of Gallup, New Mexico is a local sponsor. The exhibit will remain open through February 26, 2011.
This exhibit celebrates and honors the unique art of basketry by the Diné of the Four Corners Region. Twenty Navajo basket weavers share their stories and life ways that are woven into baskets. The baskets surpass traditional boundaries into beyond contemporary to convey Diné cultural stories.
A documentary features Elsie Stone Holiday of Mexican Hat, Utah. Holiday shares her story and basket demonstration of Changing Woman, a Holy Deity. The exhibition showcases over eighty hand-woven baskets that have been loaned to the NNM, soon to be transferred to the permanent collections at the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City.
An exhibit presented by the Navajo Nation Museum, describes some of the knowledge basic to the Navajo culture pertaining to the four stages of the Navajo way of life which includes the cornfield as a sacred place and the ceremonial basket as a symbol of growth, prosperity, and great knowledge. The Navajo philosophy is complex, and it includes rules to maintain harmony and balance for the mental, physical, and spiritual health of the Dine, (The People).
The exhibit features museum collections that are property of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Tribal Museum first opened to the public on August 27, 1961, and has been expanding the collections since. The museum is still accepting family heirlooms related to the Navajo people of the Four Corners Region. This exhibit is a forerunner of the Museum’s permanent exhibition.
The exhibit portrays the historical event at Bosque Redondo known as Hwéeldi, the Long Walk to Fort Sumner by Diné people. The exhibition presents Diné oral history past down through generations and images relating to this horrific event. We introduce our twelve Diné Chiefs and seventeen Council Headmen who signed the Treaty of June 1, 1868 with Commissioner General W. T. Sherman and Samuel F. Tappan representing the United States.
After the return to Diné Bikéyah (Navajoland), Diné people return to their cultural and traditional way of life through their language and ceremonies. This exhibit is to educate our Diné people, youth and leaders in understanding their history and for our Diné people who survived and prevailed in maintaining their way of life.
